Prospects are looking up for students graduating from university this year, as research suggests that many of the UK’s top companies plan to hire more graduates in 2015.
This week the independent market research company High Fliers Research published its annual report - ‘The Graduate Market in 2015’ – which takes a look at graduates entering the jobs market and 100 of the UK’s leading employers.

The report suggests that graduates in 2015 can expect to see more job opening’s than those in previous years, as more companies plan to recruit more people at entry-level. Leading employers in the retail and luxury sectors, which were included in the survey, range from Apple and the Arcadia Group, to Jaguar Landrover and Rolls Royce. In 2015 there will be 8.1% more openings for graduates than in 2014. It’s only in the past two years that the graduate job market has started to grow again, following the cutback as a result of the recession.
As well an increase in jobs in areas ranging from retail to the public sector, the report indicates that 2015 will see higher starting salaries for graduates, with the average wage rising to £30,000. High Fliers found that more than a quarter of employers will offer salaries of £35,000 or above.
There are also signs that companies are to offer more work experience opportunities such as paid internships, with just over 13,000 placements to be available in 2015. The survey reveals that a third of companies will offer entry-level roles to individuals who have worked on placements for the company, an indicator that work experience is a key asset for young people to have.
In a statement Martin Birchall, Managing Director of High-Fliers, commented “It’s great news that students leaving university this summer who’ve paid higher tuition fees for their degrees will be emerging into the most buoyant graduate job market for over a decade, with a wider choice of graduate vacancies at the country’s most sought-after employers and better starting salaries.”

The first wave of graduates will have paid higher tuition fees, will at least face better job prospects than individuals who left university in previous years. These findings from High Flier indicate that, as leading companies decide to take on more graduates, the graduate job market – like the rest of the job market - is finding confidence again.